Have you peeked at this year’s calendar–the dates of testing and leave? I am sure we all have looked at it once or twice, checking for our holiday breaks and quarter ends. Do you notice how clumped up the days off are in the beginning and later, how there’s like nearly no days off? I think this affects how students behave through the year, and it could be made more efficient.

There are 15 days off in total for every month combined except for November and December. November and December have 12 days off between the two of them alone. Isn’t the ratio off? I understand the primary reason for so many days being clumped together is due to the continuous celebrations surrounding these two months. We have Diwali, Hanukkah, and Christmas, all wrapped around the same time. 

The holiday season, for this reason, causes a lump sum of no school around this time, making a difficult third quarter. No holidays and breaks until spring break. It’s pure, academic, school. Of course, school is a place to learn and study, but in the third quarter, there are no more breaks to look forward to. Additionally, unlike the fourth quarter which is nearly all review and a close summer break, the third quarter is still filled with notetaking, learning, tests and quizzes, and only two days off until spring break all the way in March. I think this builds a lot more stress and pressure for my peers and I as we get closer to finals, and try to look for the next week off to relax. 

Finally, let me acknowledge that as a Pompano Beach High School student, we are given our Fridays off every weekend. This clearly helps let up some of the pressure with the studies of our school (at the price of 8 hour work days). Yes, I understand we have many important holidays during this time, but does Thanksgiving need a week off? New Year’s a whole individual week for a day’s celebration? I don’t think so. These could be two days off and the other two of each week placed in the third or fourth quarter.